Stregone Benefice
by RavenJackson
Summary: The epic love story between Carlisle and Esme...how it all began. Special appearance by Edward.


Stregone Benefice

I waited in the shadows, at peace with the darkness. This was the pre-eminent place to be. My father was an ignorant man. I knew what I needed to do and I did it well. As the group of ten men behind me steadied themselves, I pulled out my blade from its sheath, grasping it in my hand. It was a gift from my father, of course, though he was thoroughly disappointed that I never used it as excessively as he had used his weapons.

_That__'__s all about to change tonight, _I thought to myself.

No longer would my father's mouth turn into a grimace whenever he spoke of his only son, a discomfiture who could condemn not a single person. But that was not the problem. I was prepared to uphold justice…only to those who deserved it.

My father, an Anglican pastor in London, was swift in his crusade to banish all witches, werewolves and vampires to hell.

That was why I stood solemnly in the shadows, awaiting a destiny that was short lived to a coven of vampires I had discovered a week or so ago.

They had been hiding in the sewers for the duration of the day and prowling through the streets just as dusk settled through the village.

As one man, I surely could not take on all the vampires, staying far away so my presence was not to be made known. I spent the remainder of the week rounding up some of the village folk to destroy this coven.

My father would finally be proud of me. He would speak my name with reverence instead of disgust.

I signalled to the men behind me to quieten down as the grate on the sewer slid away soundlessly.

For a second, no one moved. No one breathed nor did they dare speak.

Then the vampire emerged. He was a gangly one, not the same one I had seen the last time. Even in the darkness, there was a faint luminous look to his pale skin. His hair was tied up into a messy knot and his eyes darted around, searching for any danger.

I held my hand up and gestured for the men to wait. I could sense a few of them were beginning to get nervous, never having seen a vampire at such a close proximity.

The vampire spoke something in an unfamiliar language down into the sewers and then whipped his head around to where we stood, hidden.

Could he see us?

Without warning, the vampire ran away. It was now or never.

"Go!" I shouted to the group of men. We appeared from the shadows and chased after the creature as it attempted to flee us. I was in the front, leading the group. I had perceived that vampires were fast creatures, seeing one run at full speed before. The vampire had turned into a blur, not even time holding it to the earth.

But this vampire was different. He must have been weak with hunger, for I almost matched his speed as he sprinted into the night. I prepared myself, raising my blade high into the air, the silver gleaming in anticipation.

And then he turned. One second, his back was to me as he tried to escape then I was facing his crimson eyes, wild with thirst. He clawed at me, raking his fingers down my chest and leaving five red gashes in his wake.

It was agony but the vampire was not finished yet. He jumped on top of me, forcing my body to the ground and clasping his hands around my neck. I fought him back as best as I could but I was no match for the monstrosity on top of me.

From my peripheral vision, I saw more vampires had emerged from the depths of the sewers to aid the one trying to kill me.

I heard bones snapping and looked across the pavement in horror to see two of my close confidants lying on the ground, their heads no longer connected to their bodies.

I punched as hard as I could at the vampire on top of me but I knew it was hopeless.

I went seeking justice and to condemn these vampires but I was the one now being condemned. Immediately realizing there was no reason to fight back, I broke off my fight, awaiting my death in absolute stillness.

The vampire felt me loosen in his arms then brought his lips down on my neck.

From then on, all that could be heard was my screaming as he lapped at my blood.

"We must leave." A woman progressed towards the vampire on top of me and shoved him away. "Now."

She ushered. If the pain wasn't incarcerating me in my own body, I might have been able to appreciate her beauty.

Instead, I withered in pain as I watched them disappear down the street, a distance nightmare come true. The mob had quickly forgotten me and I became just another corpse on the side of the road.

The vampire had managed to puncture multiple wounds over my body, my blood rushing freely through the streets.

I knew what needed to be done now. Even through the bewildering pain, I still recognized what needed to be done.

I propped myself on my elbows and crawled along the street, past the dead bodies and towards an alley way immersed in darkness. It was my only option.

At a lengthy alacrity, I advanced towards the alley.

Like a pinprick of hope, I saw a cellar and threw myself at it with as much velocity as possible.

The wooden doors collapsed under my weight and I fell a few meters below the ground to land in some rotting potatoes.

The pain devoured me, like a flame licking at my body internally. I could not scream, could not move.

I could not be…

For a relentless perpetuity, all that could think of was the pain.

Pain, pain, pain.

It was never ending.

Agony, suffering, anguish, torture.

As if to add to the torment, the pain doubled, spreading to my legs.

So much burning…

I could sense the night turn to day which turned to night and day again.

I did not scream, for I knew the severe consequences if I did. I lay still and silent, lost in the pain.

Very slowly, I began to make out very distinct sounds, like the shuffling of feet above or the call of a distance jay bird. I felt stronger and was able to correctly distinguish every sound and sight. I wondered if my father was concerned by my absence. My burning heart felt heavy when I realized that he probably would not be concerned.

It had been three days and I felt a glimmer of hope when the pain in my fingertips slowly dwindled away. A new cool sensation took its place. The pain receded in my wrists then my arms and my chest until one final lick of the blistering flame scorched through my chest.

My heart took its final beat then stopped, never to restart again.

I lay still, savouring the feeling of having no pain cascading through my body but also growing anxious when I tried to breathe in and there being no relief when I did so.

Day broke over the horizon and I steadied myself on the wall, amazed how fast my movements had become. I could smell and see everything, even with such little light streaming through the ceiling.

I had to admit to myself what I now was.

I was no longer Carlisle, my identity lost in the sands of time. I was now the world's most dangerous predator. I was the centre of everything that my father loathed. I was a killer.

I was a vampire.

This knowledge gripped me with a sudden force that almost propelled me to the ground in crippling pain. My nature could not be made known. No one, not even the great God's above could forgive me for what I had become.

With a furious rage, I crouched to the ground then jumped out into the alleyway that had sealed my fate only a few days ago. Of course, all of the carnage resulting in the attack had been cleaned up. If any thing, everyone would have most likely turned a blind eye and said that it resulted from a terrible accident.

The alley was still cloaked in darkness, even when the sun shone its brilliant rays throughout the village.

I saw the town centre a few yards ahead with a scatter of different people doing their daily errands.

I jogged briskly to the edge of the alleyway and as the sun made contact with my skin a million diamonds appeared to be embedded into my skin, sparkling with a beauty that I never knew.

I gasped in shock then retreated back into the shadows, grateful that no one had seen me. It was disheartening to know that I could never go into the daylight again.

I glanced at the small crowd in the town centre. Would they be able to see me if I sprinted as fast as I could past them? Maybe they would mistake me for a gust of wind, a flutter of a leaf slowly brushing past them.

Inhaling a deep breath, I steadied myself against the wall of the alleyway then shot out into village.

It was indescribable. Word confounded me. I had known no sensation in my human life like running as I was now. I streaked through the winding road, increasing in speed as every second slipped by.

I felt no exertion as I powered on, my muscles not faltering in the slightest. It was astonishing.

I made it to the other side of town in a matter of minutes, though it would have taken at least half a day by horseback.

I raced back into the city, purely for the purpose of running. If I could, I would have never stopped.

But stop I did.

I returned to my villa, strangely foreign to me now even though I grew up from within its ancient walls. Vines tangled their way through the decaying cracks, seeking retreat into the crevices. Spring had just awakened in London and many flowers had made my home their home.

There were lilies and roses, even a few tulips. I distinguished each of the flower's smells as I ran up the gravel path towards the front door.

It wasn't the fanciest house in the village but it did its job as the decades took its toll on the exterior.

I opened the front door, nearly bowling it out of the way in my haste to get inside and out of the direct sunlight.

I could smell the scent of humans, a couple of days old. The maids, I guessed.

I sought a fresh pair of clothes, eager to get out of the blood stained clothes that clung to my body. The scent of blood did strange things to my body. A raw urge was beginning to surface but I disregarded the unpleasant sensation, focusing completely on what needed to be done.

My existence could not be made known to anyone. If given the chance, my father would probably have hunted me down and killed me if he knew about the soulless demon I had become.

No. He would not know.

I would take away my life to prevent him from doing that to me. I did not want to be a monster. This curse inflicted upon me would not prevail.

With that thought, I sprinted out into the day once again to seal my fate in an untimely death.

The dark abyss below me beckoned me forward. I inched gradually to the rocky ledge until I could see the deep cliff below. Every angle, every contusion, all shown to me with perfect clarity. It had to have been a distance of at least seven hundred metres.

There was fear in my body, something I could not fathom.

What was to fear?

"Nothing." I whispered aloud. My voice, like wind chimes, was lost in the faint breeze.

It had been nearly four weeks since my transformation, a short period of time compared to the incessant future ahead of me, and despite all attempts to end my desolate existence (if that was what I could really consider it as), I was still standing.

I was still breathing.

_Not for long_, I thought grimly to myself.

I positioned my feet on the cliff's edge and jumped.

There was no cry of terror, no scream of joy nor any tearless sobs to signal apprehension in my decision. Not a single sound escaped my mouth as I plummeted towards the ground.

The cliff face raced past me, though still in amazing definition for my eyes saw everything. I twirled and spiralled effortlessly then hit the ground with a resounding thud that echoed throughout the monotonous cliffs.

My head made contact with the ground first, cracking slightly on impact, though (to my disappointment) not ending my life.

I laid motionless on the gravel, resisting the feral urge to let out growl of anger.

"Why will I not die!" I screamed to no one in particular. The response was just as silent. Was I really expecting an answer? My head was bent out of shape so positioned my hands on either side of my neck and twisted it back into position.

Why did this happen to me? Had I done something in my previous life to anger the God's above? Were they now punishing me for some unknown cause, at least unknown to me?

There were no answers to the endless amount of questions buzzing through my head.

It could have been hours or minutes or days but eventually I moved from where I was lying on the dusty gravel and departed from the cliff base.

It would be an elongated run back to where I least wanted to be. Nevertheless, I ran.

Months past and I grew weak with hunger. I could not stay in my home any longer for too many pieces of my broken childhood reflected my father's face back at me.

Instead, I wandered through the forest during the day, in an eternal state of unawareness and uncertainty. During the night I crawled into the earth and folded into myself, a pathetic excuse of a life.

This was my final attempt at suicide. If this did not succeed then I saw no other way of dispatching my soul from this body.

I tried to starve myself.

Humans could last weeks on end without food, as I had experience through seeing those sentenced to death, chained in the village centre and slowly dying of starvation.

I vaguely remembered one man who was chained there for petty theft. His ancient eyes had secrets hidden within them and his face sagged, time being an enemy to his appearance. When I passed him on the way to the cathedral, his gaze briefly caught mine and I, for some unknown reason, thought I could sense no fear behind the man's approaching death. It appeared that the only thing that upset him was that the village folk, who threw rotten food at him, were the one's to witness his death. He deserved more then that.

There was no one now to witness my death. Only an endless canvas of silver stars scattered above.

As I sorted through my dim human, avoiding those that involved my father entirely, I heard a steady drumming not so far away. It was rhythmic, almost as if tapping to a nonexistent beat and was approaching swiftly.

I tensed my body; ready to defend myself if needed then peered out from the overgrown bush I was concealed behind to see a group of deer approaching.

I could feel the heat radiating off of the mother, who stood protectively in front of her children.

Without so much as a thought, I pounced at the mother who had barely a second to register what was happening.

My teeth, like incisors, dug deep into the flesh and sinew, in search of blood. The release was instantaneous as the blood coursed its way through my body.

The hunger that I had been trying so desperately to disregard was finally being sedated.

The endless possibilities couldn't come to me fast enough as I drained the animal and threw away the caress with a simple flick of my wrist.

I knew what this meant. Even if the profound meaning of what had just happened didn't fully register yet, I knew what this meant.

"I do not need to die." I uttered in triumph.

The soulless demon that I was trying so futilely to escape was no longer a threat to me anymore. I knew without a doubt in my mind that I could survive through this endless existence without hurting a single human.

The sheer joy that was brought with all these new thoughts made me yell out in exhilaration.

I propped myself up from where I had been crouching and followed the scent of the mother's two children.

It was a simple task, one which required little effort.

The deer had a very distinct scent though not too close to that of a carnivore. The deer's were still sprinting through the forest just as dusk swathed the forest in its dark beauty.

I caught up to them hastily and the younger one shrieked as I came down on her fragile body.

I had my arms encircled around the deer's neck as we spiralled across the dirt, the deer putting up a strong fight for such a diminutive creature.

Finally, we hit a large oak that towered over all else and I saw my opportunity when the deer shot a glance in the direction of her now retreating sibling.

I tore my way through her flesh and felt the same gratifying release that I had the first time my body consumed the animal's blood.

The deer twitched in my embrace, her shrieking gradually becoming quieter until her pleas were cut off with a final gurgle.

Crimson blood dripped from the tip of her mouth and I laid her down on the ground more gently then I had handled her mother. I may have killed the deer but there was no reason to disrespect her any further after death.

The blood that now flowed through my body restored some of the health that I had lost when I had gone into a motionless stupor for the past few months.

I could feel it in my body, from the crown of head to the soles of my feet. It was a strength that I never knew I possessed.

I bounded through the forest once more, for the first time feeling a sense of hope.

I had every reason to believe that I was going to be okay. And I knew that I was.

_Two hundred and fifty years later__…_

I passed through the hospital doors, barely noticed and sauntered towards the front desk.

The room was faintly illuminated by a couple of lamps placed evenly around the room. The smell of burning oil and decaying flesh assaulted my nose.

I took one of the charts out from the basket placed on the desk, saying a brief 'hello' to Elizabeth, the receptionist.

She nodded but kept her head low and concentrated on the paperwork that was in front of her. From what I could perceive, it looked as if she was going to be here for awhile.

The sun had finally receded behind a veil of clouds just beyond the horizon and I sighed in relief as the chains that bound me to my house during the day were freed and I could once again go back to work.

It was difficult only being allowed to come to work during the night. There were so many vital moments I was missing, so many lives that I could be saving.

Instead I was locked up at home, Edward having left months ago.

A bout of depression momentarily overtook me as I thought of my now distant 'son'.

For centuries I had turned over the idea of changing someone else. I had rejected the idea so many times, not allowing myself to sentence another human to this life.

But I was still conflicted. I had lived a lonely existence for nearly three centuries and I longed for a companion, someone that I could finally confide my secrets to.

Edward Anthony Masen had been on the verge of death, another victim to the recent influenza epidemic. He was weak, barely conscious, his mother and father already killed by the recent onslaught.

I suppose I acted on a whim.

But Edward had rebelled and now I lived by myself once again.

I shook myself out of my reverie. There was work to do now and I could not let my personal problems stop me from doing my work.

I glided down the alabaster halls, checking my patient list for the night.

A twenty six year old woman had recently been admitted into the ward. I scanned the notes quickly, written from the previous nurse on duty.

Esme Platt had apparently fallen off a cliff, thought the nurses on duty sensed it was an act of suicide.

I thought for a second. Hadn't I recently just treated a woman named Esme Platt?

No, I had not treated her. I had treated her newborn. She had given birth here a few weeks ago and I was sure her name would be here somewhere in our files.

I desperately tried to save her child but the little baby died days after he was born due to an unknown cause.

Had the women tried to kill herself because her baby passed away?

I picked up the pace slightly, curious to see the women, or maybe even get a chance to talk to her.

I ascended the staircase to the ward above and walked to the room at the end of the hall, 7B.

Trying to be polite in case she was awake, I knocked on the door lightly then let myself in.

It was far worse then I had anticipated.

As soon as I had entered the room, I could tell she had only moments of her life left. Her heart stuttered and thumped unevenly, even stopping briefly for a few seconds.

Her arms and legs were both bandaged but I could smell the blood emerging from the multiple lacerations in her skin. She was positioned awkwardly on the bed, her spine curving slightly upwards.

What I wasn't expecting was her beauty. Even though her face was visibly contorted with pain, her beauty was still shocking. Wisps of her mahogany toned hair clung to the sweat accumulating up on her forehead and cheeks and her teeth bit down hard onto her rosy lips.

I walked hesitantly towards her, laying my hand gently on her forehead. She was well over the average temperature.

I placed my fingertips delicately on her pulse and counted her heart beats. It was an average of forty per minute.

Suddenly, her eyes flew open and she stared at me with piercing blue eyes. I was speechless as a moment of silence passed through us.

Then she fainted.

Her body slumped back against the bed and I had to give myself a few second to recollect my thoughts. As soon as my eyes laid on hers, I knew what I was going to do.

Edward was long gone now and I knew without a doubt in my body that this woman would die within the hour if I didn't do something.

Desperation filled me so strongly that I flew into action, calculating everything that needed to be done in mere seconds.

As tenderly as I could possibly manage, I picked Esme up from the bed, the sheet on her sliding off effortlessly as if she were a ghost and sprinted out of the room.

I felt a slight stab of guilt as I thought of all the other patients that I needed to attend to. But at the moment, they were just going to wait. This woman was going to be saved. I would save her.

Tonight was a particularly frosty night in Chicago, the temperatures falling well below zero. I hadn't thought to provide Esme with additional clothing or blankets as I ran her through the bleak streets. It was far too late now.

Her grip on life was slowly dwindling away and I knew if I didn't do it soon, she would be dead.

I pushed myself further and arrived at my villa minutes later.

Esme looked so small and breakable as I set down on top of the desk in my study. The curtains were drawn, setting an eerie darkness throughout the house, though I could see perfectly fine without the light.

I tried to be careful of her spine, as it was badly broken (probably made even worse after I carried her for so long), and brought my lips to her ear.

"Forgive me, Esme." I whispered mellifluously.

My lips moved towards her neck and I kissed her lightly before piercing her skin with my teeth. Her body immediately jerked, as is she had been shocked though she still did not open her eyes. My venom flowed through her veins and I quickly trailed my tongue across the wound I had created.

I grabbed her wrist and created the same wound, closing it as quickly as I had made it, sealing in my venom.

I recreated those wounds all over her body then stood back as she thrashed widely on the table.

As she struggled against the pain, I could vividly remember my transformation and shied away from those searing memories.

Her eyes had opened once again and I became lost in the beauty of her eyes. I had never seen a blue like that before.

She screamed out in agony and I held her wrists, pinning her to the table so that she could not harm herself.

She sobbed and shrieked, hitting her head against the wooden table. It cracked under the pressure but held true.

"Esme! Listen to me. You have to stop moving. I know you're in pain but it will be over soon. Please Esme." I knew that it was pointless to try and reason with her as she burned alive but I hated to see her burn before my very eyes. Every scream sent a small stab of pain through me and made me doubt my decision to change her.

During the four days of Esme's transformation, I did not go to work. On the second day of her transformation I had finally managed to convince her to stop screaming, though she was still in horrendous pain. She seemed to sense that she needed to keep quiet so I sat with her, my hand in hers, and watched as the days passed.

I could see her beauty become more pronounced as the days passed. She would occasionally let out a small moan and I would brush my hand against her face or hand, trying to sooth her.

Her eyes never reopened.

Eighty four hours, thirty minutes and six seconds later I heard her heart falter faintly then stop.

It was over.

"Esme? Esme, can you hear me?" I brushed her forehead with the back of my hand and allowed her to open her eyes in her own time.

Gradually, her eyes fluttered open and those blue eyes that I loved dearly were now replaced with a dark burgundy colour that had looked identical to mine when I was first changed.

She still wore the same clothes that she had worn when she had been in the hospital; a disgusting cerulean overall that did nothing to compliment her shape.

Esme pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked around, bewildered.

"What…what am I?" She questioned. It was the first time I had heard her voice and I had never heard a more exquisite melody in the entire world.

"I'm sorry. I wish there had been another way. But I had to save you." I spoke softly to reassure her that I was no threat to her. Newborn vampires could be volatile at best and absolute beasts at worst. I had to be careful around her.

"Why is everything so…clear and why can I hear everything so well? What happened to me?" Fear placed itself in her features and I placed my hand reassuringly on her shoulder.

"I turned you into a vampire to save you life Esme."

"A vampire?"

I nodded austerely. "Can you remember anything before all the pain?" She winced slightly when I brought up the subject of her recent transformation.

"I…I tried to kill myself. My baby…my baby died." And then she hurled herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face into my chest, crying tearless sobs.

"My baby…my baby." She whimpered. I wrapped my arms around her hesitantly and stroked her hair.

"I'm sorry Esme. I did what I thought was best." She did not reply, only continued to cry broken sobs.

I guided her through the living room and to my bedroom, placing her on the bed. She clung to me as if for dear life and I sat with her on the bed, as she struggled with her grief.

For an immeasurable amount of time, we sat with each other, and I attempted to alleviate her broken, dead heart.

"Come on lazy bones! Bet you can't catch me!" Esme's trilling laugh echoed through the forest as she turned her back to me and shot off into the woods ahead of me. My answering laugh was just as exuberant.

I chased after her eagerly, letting her go ahead of me.

"Found some." Esme spoke from a few meters ahead of me though I could still not see her. She cut off to the right in the direction of our next meal and that was when I picked up on the scent.

"Are you going to let me win again or are you actually going to try this time?" Esme teased as I bounded into direction where her voice was coming from.

I came to a break in the trees just as Esme pounced onto a mountain lion that was perched in the tree ahead of me. I hope she didn't ruin her pretty dress like she had the first time we were hunting. I laughed at the memory.

The mountain lion put up a fight but was no match for Esme's brute strength. The fight was over in seconds.

After she had drained the animal, she sprinted up to me and mockingly punched my shoulder.

"Nice try." Esme said then paused briefly. "You let me win, didn't you?"

Before I had the chance to answer, she was off running again. I ran after her, following for a few miles until I caught up to her.

I jumped at her, pulling her body to the ground and we both fell, our laughter bouncing off the trees.

We both lay on the grass, each blade pressed against my body. Esme lay still a few inches away from me.

I propped myself up on my elbow so that I could see her more clearly. Her beauty still had me confounded at times and it seemed like I couldn't get enough of her.

And it wasn't just her physical beauty that enticed me. As the months passed, I was able to delve deep into her soul and see her for the person she had once been; a heart broken mother who loved her child dearly.

She had been devoted to living her life as best as she could but when the tragedy of losing her child struck, she did not know how to deal with that amount of grief that presented itself to her.

So she jumped.

We talked all through the days, and I left for work during the nights, opting for shorter hours at the hospital so I could watch Esme. She had said she did not mind being left alone, busying herself by sketching and painting.

"Maybe," I spoke, bringing myself back to the present. "I might have gone a little easy on you. At least this time you didn't get your dress torn."

I reached my hand out and touched the hem of her dress. Her gaze caught mine and I took my hand back, embarrassed to see my emotions so palpable.

"Sorry." I mumbled pathetically. I did not know if she returned the feelings that I felt and I didn't bother to ask.

Newborn vampires were dangerous to interact with on a friend-to-friend basis. It was even worse if they were romantically involved. Emotions played out like a kaleidoscope of colours for newborns, changing drastically and before anyone could comprehend the sudden change.

So I kept my distance.

Esme crossed her slender arms across her chest and an uncharacteristic frown emerged on her heart shaped face. It broke my heart.

"How about a rematch?" I said, trying to lighten the mood.

Esme immediately cheered up. "Okay. But you have to promise that you won't go easy on me. I want this to be fair."

I agreed to her terms and we shot off into the woods once again.

This time I beat her, having already killed three deer. Esme was only at two.

That's when I smelt the scent that I had not smelt for almost twenty years. I dropped the deer I was consuming, in a state of near shock when I saw Edward emerge through the dense overgrowth.

Esme was off in the near distance but all of my attention was fixated on Edward.

He was exactly as I remembered him, his bronze hair windblown from running and his crimson eyes darting from Esme to me and back again.

"Edward. My son…what are you doing here?" Were my eyes deceiving me? I was so sure that Edward was gone from my life, so positive that I would never see his face once again.

"Carlisle," He began then rushed so hastily through his next words. "I'm so sorry Carlisle. I should have never left you here. If I had known…if only I had known what it really would be like. I couldn't do it, Carlisle. I tried but I found that I had no right to take away the lives of the guilty even if they were about to commit a crime. I killed too many of them and for that I am truly sorry. I honestly thought I was doing what was right. Can you ever forgive me, Carlisle? I'll try for centuries if I have to, just please, give me another chance."

"Carlisle?" Esme sprinted to my side then glanced over at Edward wearily. "Is this him?"

I nodded, allowing Edward to read my thoughts so that he saw there was no danger in Esme.

"Edward. Of course you are welcome back into my family. I understand why you made the choices that you did and hold nothing against you for doing so." I walked to him cautiously then placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Welcome back." He nodded and that was all that needed to be said on that matter for now.

"And let me introduce you to Esme Platt." I said while motioning to her still frame. She had a polite smile on her face but made no move to approach Edward.

"Hello." She spoke.

"Before I give Edward the chance to frighten you to death, let me tell you right now that he can read minds." Shock filtered through Esme's face before she composed herself.

I chuckled at the memory of Edward first reading my mind. It had only been one day since I had turned him and I had been mulling over in my mind whether or not I should go to work and leave Edward by himself.

Edward had approached me and told me he thought I should go to work and leave him be. Then he began to recite every thought that entered my mind. It had scared me to death.

Of course, I should have known that was the joke all along. But it had made Edward laugh which I enjoyed hearing. Hearing his laugh almost made me believe that I wasn't an absolute monster for denouncing Edward to this life.

I heard Edward's light chuckle at my side as he read my thoughts and reminisced in the memory.

"Hmm. Is that so? What am I thinking right now?" Esme asked, with a hint of teasing in her tone.

"That you want to have a rematch with Carlisle." Edward said, faintly smug. Esme dipped her head to hide embarrassment.

"Would you like to return to the villa? I have left your room in the same condition it was when you left. Nothing has changed." I asked him. It was true that his room remained untouched though it was not because I thought he would be returning home.

In truth, I could not bear to see his room, for it reminded me of the failure I had succumbed to being.

"No Carlisle. That's not true. I left by my own free will." I shook my head, realizing that I would have to start censoring my thoughts when I was around Edward so that I wouldn't hurt his feelings.

Edward grimaced but said nothing else.

"Let's go home." I said.

"Wait," Edward interjected. "You and Esme may return home but if it's okay with you, I'd like to try my hand at hunting animals. If I'm going to commit to your lifestyle then I would like to start as soon as possible."

"Would you like us to join you?" I questioned.

"No. I need to do this alone. Please don't take personal offence but I just think it will be best if I am alone. Can I meet up with you both at the house later?" He asked.

"That's no problem, Edward. Take as long as you need." Edward smiled at me then disappeared into the trees. I'm sure my answering smile was just as wide.

Esme and I arrived back at the villa later that night and we both lit the oil lamps that were situated around the house evenly.

I settled down on the sofa and she curled up next to the fireplace, her chin resting on her knees.

"How are you doing?" I asked. She knew what I meant.

"I'm okay, I guess. It still hurts sometimes when I walk past a human in the village but I'm coping."

"That's good. I hope Edward does as well as you have been doing." Esme had only killed one human and that was because he had been in the path of her hunting. It was a case of the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Can I ask you something, Carlisle?"

"Of course."

Esme seemed to hesitate before asking. "Why do you not like touching me?"

I was not expecting that.

"I don't know what you mean." I said, feigning ignorance.

"You know what I mean. I should have probably been more vocal about it before but I love you, Carlisle."

"You…you love me?"

She nodded and continued to stare at the fire that bathed the living room in its warm glow. The light danced off her skin, carving patterns across her face as a look of absolute peace settled deep into her eyes.

"Esme…" I whispered then stood up from where I sitting. I walked quickly to where she sat and joined her on carpet next to the fireplace.

I stretched out my hand, always hesitant, and trailed my finger down her arm. She breathed out a sigh of relief then fell into my embrace.

My cold arms wrapped around her and at that moment I felt…human.

It had been nearly three hundred years since my downfall into a life that I had never solicited for and it felt as if my frozen heart might thud another beat at the sheer happiness that almost imploded from me.

I brought my lips to her ear.

"You know I love you too, Esme." I murmured affectionately.

Esme turned towards me until her face was inches from mine. She searched my eyes, as I searched hers and I knew she was the one.

She was the one who I was going to spend the rest of my life trying to make happy. No matter what separated us, no matter what challenges were presented to us, she would always be the one.

With that remarkable thought in my mine, I brought my lips to hers and melted into her embrace.

Her lips were soft and sweet against mine and her fingers ran through my hair with a desire that matched my own. I never wanted the kiss to end.

I pulled her up from where we sat, holding her in my arms with ease and walked in the direction of my bedroom, not once breaking the kiss.

She pulled me onto the bed with her and I tore at her clothes, not caring if I ended up damaging them. I would buy her more if she needed them.

She too ripped off my clothes with reckless abandonment. That was fine by me.

I lay down on the golden quilt, marvelling at Esme's beauty.

"Are you sure you want to do this Esme?" I asked. Without a doubt, I knew I was ready but I did not want to make Esme do something that might go on to regret later.

"Carlisle," She whispered while placing her hand over my heart. "I am sure." I snatched her hand away from my chest and brought it to my mouth kissing each fingertip.

"Kiss me." She ordered. I obeyed and we continued into the night, never growing tired and certainly never growing bored.


End file.
